It has only been a little more than two weeks since Cole Ragans last took the mound for the Royals, but they’ve missed their ace left-hander when he’s healthy. On Saturday, he took a step toward a return with his first rehab start -- and looked a lot like the Ragans the Royals know.
Ragans tossed 4 1/3 innings of one-run ball for Triple-A Omaha on the road against the St. Paul Saints (Twins), needing 68 pitches (44 strikes) and working around three hits and one walk with three strikeouts. The Royals had him scheduled for four to five innings and/or 60-65 pitches, so he was right in line with that expectation Saturday.
“He felt good,” manager Matt Quatraro said Sunday morning. “Held his velo. He’s not back here yet this morning, but we’ll see how he feels when he gets here. Everything was really encouraging from yesterday.
“The stuff looked good, the changeup was good. Threw strikes to the lefties. Got a couple of weak ground balls. There were a lot of positives.”
Ragans has been on the 15-day injured list since May 8 (retroactive to May 7) with a left elbow impingement after he exited his start against the Guardians on May 6 after just three innings. Ragans was diagnosed with valgus extension overload – a condition commonly called “pitcher’s elbow” that’s characterized by back- and middle-elbow pain related to repetition in throwing athletes.
The Royals have been hopeful that Ragans’ IL stint would be on the shorter side, which made Saturday’s rehab outing a massive step in that direction.
Kaelen Culpepper homered on the first pitch Ragans threw Saturday, a 93.6 mph fastball in the zone, but Ragans recovered well to get out of the inning without further damage. His fastball also hit 97.3 mph in that inning, and he averaged 95.2 mph with the pitch throughout his outing.
Ragans struck out Royce Lewis -- who was optioned to Triple-A by the Twins on Tuesday -- in the third inning, getting him to chase an 88 mph slider on the seventh pitch of the at-bat. He added two more strikeouts in the fourth, including one on a nasty slider to Matt Wallner. Ragans was at 64 pitches when he ended the fourth inning, but he went out for the fifth and retired Ricardo Olivar on a popup in foul territory to mark the end of his outing.
The Royals will see how Ragans feels after this start to determine his next steps. But given that he’s already built up to 60-plus pitches, that puts him in a good spot for a shorter rehab assignment. He’s eligible to return now, so he could slot back into the rotation next week once he’s fully rested after Saturday, potentially during the Royals’ series against the Rangers in Texas next weekend.
Quatraro said Sunday that Ragans returning after just one rehab start was a “possibility,” but the club wants to discuss it more after seeing how Ragans feels once he gets back to Kansas City.
The Royals’ rotation against the Yankees this coming week at Kauffman Stadium includes Michael Wacha on Monday and Noah Cameron on Wednesday. They have yet to announce a starter for Tuesday’s game, with that day likely being a bullpen day unless the relievers are used heavily on Sunday and Monday.
Then, the Royals have another off day on Thursday before they head on the road, allowing them to shuffle the rotation a bit and potentially bring Ragans back if he feels fully recovered. Starter Kris Bubic also remains on the 15-day injured list with left elbow soreness, so bringing Ragans back would allow the Royals to have a full rotation again without sending a starter down to Triple-A.